Indonesian Movie Project Sweeps Prizes from Aurora, RED, Yellow Box

An Indonesian movie project, The Hunted, brought home three awards at the third Southeast Asian Film Financing (SAFF) Project Market in Singapore and is set to receive some funding to help produce the movie.

The movie won the Aurora Producing Award, the RED Digital Camera Award as well as the Yellow Box Soundscape Award.

Another movie project recognized at the event was the Philippines’ Mina-Anud, which won the Basecamp Colour Prize.

Following the announcement, producers of The Hunted, Delon Tio and Allen Jordan, will receive S$20,000 (US$14,850) in co-production investment from Aurora Media Holdings, a loan of a RED SCARLET-W camera kit worth US$25,000 from RED Digital Cinema, as well as a S$20,000 post-production prize from one of Southeast Asia’s top music and audio houses, Yellow Box Studios.

Delon, who also produced 2009’s Indonesian slasher/horror Macabre, said he plans to start production on The Hunted next year and hopes to be able to screen the movie by 2019.

“We are flattered to win three awards and believe they will help greatly in elevating The Hunted to the next level in various ways. Through our participation in the SAFF Project Market, we were able to gain greater exposure for our film and raise more funds,” Delon said.

He added that it was his first time to join such an event and that he did not expect to win three awards.

The movie follows four girls whose survival instincts are put to the test after they wake up from a rave party in Bali and find themselves stranded on an island. Later, they are pursued by two hunters who have paid big money for the “ultimate hunting trophy” — human beings.

Delon said the movie would also cast several foreign actors as well as locals to attract international viewers.

The Hunted apparently stood out from its competitors due to its potential to be commercialized and co-produced across Southeast Asia and beyond, and also for its technical excellence.

This year, SAFF Project Market 2017 received submissions from 16 countries, including Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Mauritius, Myanmar, Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand. The film projects covered a myriad of genres, such as animation, drama, fantasy, thriller and dark comedy. (kes)